Synthesis of ETP-MMA and Lead Tetroxide Composites as Material for X-Ray Radiation Shielding Door

Summary Manufacture of composite barrier X-Ray radiation has been carried out by mixing Elastomer Thermoplastic-Methyl Metacrylate (ETP-MMA) with Pb₃O₄. The study was conducted with four variations: the variation of used rubber materials; the variation of rubber filler material composition; the variation of composite distance to the plane X-rays; and the variations of composites thickness. Characterizations in this research are X-ray radiation testing, mechanical testing, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterization. The characterizations show that the increasing of thermoplastic composition caused to the increasing of cavities, the reducing of radiation adsorption and the enhanching of mechanical properties. The addition of material composition gives an impact to the elevating of composite density, absorption of radiation, and hardness, but the decreasing of composite strength. Both thicker composite and greater distance between X-ray machine resulting in greater radiation absorption. The best rubber material as the composite is TPE 30%. The largest composition is 500 phr. The optimum composition in the MMA-TPE 50% is 435.82 phr with 0.4 cm of thickness. The optimum conditions of 50% MMA-TPE composite with 0.2 cm of thickness is 168.19 cm in minimum distance between composite and X-ray machine.